Social Justice and Activism for Teens
A selection of fiction and nonfiction titles that explore activism and social justice issues past and present, including climate change, LGBTQ rights, racial justice, women's rights, Indigenous rights, immigration and more. MS=books for Middle School readers
Updated June 2022
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This Is My America
Tracy is trying to help get her father, who is Black and innocent, off death row when her brother is accused of killing his white girlfriend. Can she find justice for both of them?
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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If I Go Missing
Brianna Jonnie (Ojibwe) shares a letter she wrote to the Winnipeg Police Service urging them to value the lives of Indigenous people by fairly investigating their cases.
Format: Graphic Novel
Availability: Available
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Zara Hossain Is Here
Zara has no memory of Pakistan, yet in her Texas town her family stands out because of their Islamic religion. Where will they call home? MS
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Youth to Power
Youth activists from around the world are here to teach you how you can change the world for the better with concrete and meaningful steps.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Imaginary Borders
Indigenous environmental activist, hip-hop artist and Earth Guardians leader Xiuhtezcatl Martinez challenges us to fight climate change.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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The Cost of Knowing
Cursed to see the near future, Alex must race against time when he sees a vision of his brother’s death.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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One of the Good Ones
Happi’s sister Kezi is killed after attending a social justice rally. To honor her, Happi takes a road trip guided by the original “Green Book” and secrets about her sister are revealed along the way.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Anti-racism
Hear from anti-racism advocates from today like Alicia Garza, Serena Williams, and Jason Reynolds and from historical civil rights activists like Malcolm X, James Baldwin and Audre Lorde.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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We Are Not From Here
Forced to leave their home in search of better lives, three teens travel from Guatemala on La Bestia, the infamously dangerous train. Despite their hope, trouble seems to follow as they fight for their safety.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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When We Make It
Told in verse, the novel follows Sarai, a first–generation Puerto Rican American living in Brooklyn, as she navigates poverty, family trauma, housing insecurity and her own identity.
Format: Book
Availability: Available